After the Storm
by SergeB
Summary: With everything against them, they shouldn't have had a chance. Still, even the end of the world hadn't exactly been a problem for them before. SasukexSakura drabble series with varying ratings. Prompt requests gladly accepted.
1. In Time

**A/N: First installation. Theme: time.**

**Rating: K+  
**

* * *

It had been two years, nine months, and fourteen days since she had seen Sasuke Uchiha.

Really, seen him.

She didn't, she _wouldn't,_ count the time they found him at Orochimaru's hideout. And especially not the time she found him on her own, both of them seconds from killing each other (though he was admittedly much closer than she).

That wasn't Sasuke she had seen.

Sasuke was in medical tent number seven, recovering from critical condition.

He was safe.

It was over.

But she wouldn't go to him. Even though she could. She wouldn't be the one to risk getting hurt the hundredth time.

It was Sasuke's turn. And even though he'd made the right decision in the end, even though she had never seen Naruto so completely and utterly overjoyed that they were a team once again, she was going to let him come to her this time.

* * *

It was two months, one week and five days later when he was actually walking the streets of Konoha again.

They trained together as a team again. Even Kakashi was there with them (though he was often disgruntled at the sheer energy he had to exert to keep up with them.) Sasuke even got along with Sai-

Alright. That was a lie. But for what it was worth, seeing the two of them _and_ Naruto go at each other's necks at the same time was hilarious.

Sasuke had approached her one day while out in the fields and stood about three feet in front of her, face pensive, staring at her with an unnerving steadiness.

She didn't say anything to him, she just waited.

He opened his mouth once, then closed it. He nodded towards her in a farewell and then shot off through the trees, back into the village.

* * *

One week and two days later, she found herself pouring over medical texts at her desk around ten at night.

It was a Thursday night, and the rest of Team 7 was out eating dinner. She had to insist that they have fun without her.

She and Sasuke were on good terms. Really, they were. He was closer to Naruto than ever, he tolerated Sai, he took Kakashi's advice and with her he maintained a polite, distant friendship.

And she hated it.

He was careful around her. She could tell that much. It was almost as if he was ready to be friends with everyone else again except for her. And the problem was that he wasn't unkind. He wasn't rude and he didn't give her any reasons to make her believe he thought of her any less than the rest of them.

She had nothing to work with, no plausible concerns to voice. So she tried to accept that it would stay that way for as long as he wanted. Fine.

Fine.

She heard a knock at her door and flinched out of instinct. Why now? She was trying to study and trying to forget about dark haired, dark eyed pretty boys who had an affinity for monosyllabic speech patterns.

Grumbling, she shoved the scrolls out of her lap and extracted herself from her desk to pad through the hallway and then to the front door.

She unlocked the bolt and swung open the door, immediately stilling when she saw him standing there.

"Sasuke?"

His head was hung so she could see his expression, but then he stepped forward and looked her in the eye.

She'd…she'd never seen that look before. That look that screamed everything and nothing but that silent moment in her doorway at the same time.

He brought his hands up and wrapped them around her forearms, watching her the entire time. The night was so dark and silent that it was surreal.

And then he leaned forward, slid one hand up and tangled it into her hair, and kissed her.

She could hear him let out a shaky breath through his nose as he finally drew back, arms still wrapped around her, and eyes darker than ever.

"That's how it should have been," he exhaled. Closing his eyes as if to ground himself, and then opening them again.

She was more coherent than he was. He had some nerve showing up here at ten o'clock and kissing her. But by god she'd be lying if she said that wasn't everything she'd ever dreamed it would be.

"How what should have been?"

"Everything." He answered instantly, and Sakura gasped softly.

"You-

"I'm sorry." He cut her off. He pulled her into his arms and held her in a crushing embrace, speaking into the side of her neck. "I'm so-

His voice broke.

"-sorry."

"Sasuke." She whispered and hugged him back. She understood everything from the sound of his apology, his normally smooth voice sounding so cracked and torn.

"You don't have to be sorry anymore Sasuke."

She pulled him inside her apartment so that the night would stay silent as she held him close and kissed him again, hard and unforgiving.

From that point she knew they were both done waiting.


	2. Photos

**A/N: Rating: T**

* * *

"Sakura."

"I'm sorry Sasuke, I just-

"Sakura, _please_ drop it."

"You were just so- !

"_Sakura."_

"You were such a cute baby!"

Sasuke groaned and snatched the photo out of her hand, shoving it back into his album and shoving the album back into the case where he kept everything from his childhood and clan.

"I can't believe you convinced me to show you those."

"You made the decision, Sasuke." Sakura sang back at him, getting up to go take the teapot off of the stove.

"Don't remind me." He muttered, rubbing his forehead. Then, looking for some payback, he spotted what could only be her own photo album placed in the bookshelf across the room. He had it in his hands in a second and then sat back down silently on the couch, smirk tugging at his lips as he opened it.

The first few pages were some photos of her, Naruto, Ino and some of the others in their generation. He couldn't help but scowl when he passed a picture of her laughing beautifully next to Sai.

He just didn't like the way that guy looked at her.

Then, he finally reached the older ones, and after a page of photos from her academy days, he found her baby pictures.

He hated the word, but lord.

She was really freaking cute.

Little tufts of pink mussed up about her head and already vibrant green eyes looking at the camera holder with rapt interest.

He smiled in spite of himself and turned the page.

His smile fell.

There, in the middle of what was supposed to be a sentimental collection of memories, was a photo of _his_ Sakura lying flat on her bed, legs spread, and clad only in a set of hot pink, _lace_ underwear.

"Sasuke do you want-

He jerked his head over to Sakura who was reentering the living room, a look of absolute disbelief on his face.

She regarded him, confused, before gasping and bringing her hands up to cover her mouth in surprise.

"Sasuke that's my-

"Who. Was this for." He held up the album and ground out the words, staring her down without mercy.

Sakura scratched at her cheek, blushing like mad before answering, "No one. I took it myself."

Sasuke sputtered and whipped his eyes back to the photo, and then back to her.

"I…like to mess around sometimes." Sakura explained without much conviction. Seeing his condescending raised eyebrow, she crossed her arms over her chest and gathered her wits.

"What? It's my body! And-"

"You're right."

"- I can take…" She stilled. "Huh?"

"Sakura," Sasuke carefully folded the album and set it down on the coffee table, "I just wanted to know that no other people had seen it."

Sakura smirked at him in the way that always made his blood rush. "Of course, no one else."

"Then," Sasuke was directly behind her in an instant, arms wrapped around her waist and breath hot on her neck, "Would you maybe like to take some more?"

She turned in his arms and bit his earlobe, simultaneously grinding her leg upwards in between his. Sasuke shuddered.

"Only if I'm the one manning the camera."


	3. Future

**A/N: Rating T-ish **

**Theme: Future**

Sakura had just left the Hokage Tower, enduring a particularly exhausting discussion regarding her well-being.

She was in perfect condition of course, but after some unsettling patterns she'd noticed in her personal health, she'd felt the need to set aside some time to figure out if anything could be...off. Tsunade, after preforming an invasive medical exam that Sakura had insisted that she could complete herself (to no avail) had informed her that she shouldn't worry, she was fine.

She just should avoid getting pregnant.

The news wasn't that shocking to Sakura really. In the past months, she could see the signs and the bad habits forming; the all-nighters at the hospital and the skipping meals to finish paperwork. She wasn't taking care of herself like she should have. Her mother had had a similar problem as well, when she was considering a child. She could have children, but her body had tendencies that made it very dangerous if she wasn't in top condition. It wasn't a serious illness or condition, just weak genes combined with fatigue that caused the possibility of an unhealthy child. Of course she had buckled down and started taking care of herself before she had Sakura, and Sakura supposed she would simply have to do the same...

Still, she was worried about what he would say.

As she walked somewhat aimlessly through the streets of Konoha, she mulled over the possibilities and tried to decide what course of action she should take. It took her a moment to snap out of her thoughts and look up when she heard her named called through the crowd.

It was him.

The night was descending upon the village, but slowly, languidly. It was barely dusk. The sky had a dark orange hue, streaked with pink and spotted with shyly emerging stars. The colors seemed to waft down from above and settle into the air around her. She observed the simple beauty of the atmosphere before regarding Sasuke, who was sifting through civilians to meet her.

He was also beautiful. She had to stop where she stood so she could watch him approach her, it was too surreal and too ethereal a sight to let pass by.

All he was doing was walking towards her. But it was because it was him, and it was because the tones from the sky were draped over his shoulders, glinting off of his black hair as it swayed with his strides. It was in that moment that he truly reflected something supernatural.

"Sakura." He was standing before her, face smooth but eyes gentle. "I went to your apartment, but you weren't there."

They began walking together, and she continued her silent appreciation and awe from her peripheral vision. She had to set aside the thoughts she had collected to explain to him.

"Right, I was with Lady Tsunade, sorry."

"Oh," his tone still ambiguous. "Something important?"

"Yes. Something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

Sasuke simply waited for her to continue, but she could sense the immediate tensing of his shoulders and steps.

"It's...Well..." She sighed and looked up at the orange sky and the stars. "Sasuke, I can't have children yet."

They walked for about three more paces before he answered.

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Right now, with my health, Tsunade says I shouldn't consider having children. The strain on my body could hurt me and the baby."

"Are you ill?" His voice was quickly darker, and he was watching her with his head turned as they walked.

"No, I'm fine," Sakura sighed, "But I wouldn't be, if I was going to be supporting a baby." Sakura rested a hand over her stomach absently.

They had exited the main, still-bustling streets of Konoha and reached the domestic, quieter outskirts of apartments, clan compounds and residential housing. There were people walking this way and that, some familiar, some not. Some laughing, some taking out the trash and then disappearing inside their homes again, some sitting on stoops and conversing with friends, all going about their lives in another world as Sakura waited for Sasuke to say something.

"When you married me, what did you think I wanted from you?"

Sakura couldn't say she was expecting that. Leave it to Sasuke to not even waste an ounce of time before getting to the point. She didn't know what he wanted with that kind of question, and she was afraid of where this conversation seemed to be headed. She kept quiet and listened to the soft clacks of their sandals on the path to avoid losing her composure.

"Sakura." He wasn't going to let it go.

"I guess...you wanted a future for your clan." Her voice was steady, but she had to exert quite a bit of effort.

"Forget the clan."

She froze and turned to him, gaping.

"You've always wanted..." She tried, in a daze.

"I've always wanted...?" He repeated, slowly turning towards her, a hand on one hip, looking even more like a sculpted piece of artwork than before. She gathered her wits.

"You don't want children?" She asked cautiously.

"I want what's best for us."

Sakura could feel the smile across her face and rubbed at her eyes, because she was honestly exhausted.

She felt his arms envelop her and then he was looking into her eyes seriously.

"You're annoying for thinking that I'd be upset with you over this."

Sakura laughed and shrugged.

"Well you can't blame me when you used to be all _'I'm Uchiha Sasuke, pretty boy extraordinaire and I'm going to restore my clan.'_" Sakura dropped her voice in a horrid imitation of Sasuke's.

"Pretty boy extraordinaire?" He asked, smirking, though his eyebrow was quirked, incredulous.

"Come on, you're the prettiest person I know."

"I beg to differ."

"You're right, Shikamaru and Sai are pretty close behind."

Sasuke glowered, though it was harmless.

"Kidding." Sakura clarified, then, more seriously, "So, no kids?"

"I don't want you to have to change your lifestyle to ensure your health, so for now, no. Not until you decide that you're ok with taking time off from your duties. That goes for me as well."

"But, someday?"

"Someday. Whenever you decide actually."

Sakura hooked her arm around his, and smiled serenely as they began walking once more.

"You know our kids are going to be unbelievable, right?" She envisioned a young boy with bright green eyes, jet black hair, and a surly attitude.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke sounded genuinely intrigued.

"I hope they look like you." Was all she provided.


	4. Control

**A/N: Theme: Control**

**Rating: M**

****Contrary to popular belief, Sasuke wasn't all about control, dominance and initiative.

When they first started getting close, he knew Sakura was extremely curious about the tendencies that he would show in the bedroom. Of course, she had her own preconceived ideas of what she might find.

The first time they had sex, he completely eradicated those preconceived ideas.

Sasuke didn't like being rough or aggressive while he was with Sakura. Not because he worried about hurting her (she'd probably hurt him instead) but because he had absolutely no desire for that kind of intimacy. After a life time of anger and hate and violence, he relished in the languid, heavy and _hot_ sex that he had with her.

He surprised her with a gentleness that still managed to emanate raw sexual desire and definitely surprised her with his ability to, well, last. He never, not once, came before her, and would sometimes even wake her up in the morning with his mouth hot between her legs, earning drowsy cries of pleasure and granting her orgasm without any regard to what his own body craved.

He was open minded and accepting, and wanted her to lead on most occasions. When she came to him one night, blushing, and asked if he'd let her tie his hands to the headboard, he bit his lip with darkened eyes and then lied down, purposefully defenseless.

The look she got in her own eyes after that still made him mentally groan with want.

That night was probably one of his favorites.

He had realized then, as she straddled his hips and secured his wrists above his head with her own chest bindings, that he loved seeing this dominating side of her.

Sasuke found himself struggling against the ties out of instinct as Sakura traced the outlines of his abdominal muscles with her tongue, his stomach tightening at the sensation, and bit back moan after moan when she ventured dangerously low but never low enough.

"Sakur- ungh...Ah!" He couldn't hold in his reaction when she finally enveloped his length in her mouth. His hands were fists as they strained against their binds, and he felt _so_ vulnerable.

Then she removed her mouth, not before lingering and sucking_ hard _the tip, causing him to buck, and lowered herself down, her slick walls constricting around his erection eliciting a harsh intake of breath from him beneath her.

It was ecstasy.

Sasuke let his arms hang limp above his head and could only watch with a hooded gaze and clenched teeth as she rode him. Sakura's eyes were shut tight, her head thrown back a bit, breasts bouncing lightly with her movement. God, he wanted more.

In a moment of impulse, he roughly yanked his wrists downward, tearing the bindings away and burning his skin slightly with the friction. Then he ignored Sakura's surprise and sat up, his hands gripping her hips tightly, and never breaking eye contact as he began to meet her thrusts with his own. She had a faint blush and Sasuke supposed it was from the penetrating gaze that he was leveling her with. He held her hips tighter, tighter, _tighter_ and brought her down on his length harder, and she groaned his name desperately.

And when saw him smirking that entirely _dangerous_ smirk, looking up at her with eyes darker than pitch, it was brought to her attention that she very well might not be in control after all.


	5. Singing

**A/N: Rating: Light M**

Sasuke was trying to eat his meal and simultaneously ignore the annoying stares from the rest of his team.

They were at Sai's for the weekly "team dinner", a tradition that had been established some time after he had returned to the village. He didn't mind the event, actually, he somewhat enjoyed them. He'd never admit that out loud though.

And he wasn't exactly best friends with Sai (though they were getting along much, much better than they originally had) but he didn't mind being at his place. He cooked pretty well too.

What he didn't like was the fact that they were enjoying their meals with harmless conversation only moments ago, and now, they were all staring at him in awe. Even Kakashi had widened eyes and apparent surprise.

"What." He asked plainly, eyes closed as he paused in his eating.

"Sasuke, you can't just…_do_ something like that and expect us to continue on like nothing happened!" This from Sakura.

"Well, you guys are the ones that kept asking for it."

"But none of us expected you'd actually-

"Sing?"

"Yeah…" Naruto mumbled.

"I only did so you guys would drop it."

"I know, but…"

"But what?" Sasuke asked, admirably patient.

"No…nothing." Naruto trailed off. He didn't really know how to phrase the words that summed up his thoughts on what he had just heard, so he dropped it.

The group continued eating even with the lingering atmosphere of awe radiating from Sasuke's team mates and sensei.

And Sasuke continued to pointedly ignore.

* * *

He walked with Sakura towards his apartment, a shorter distance from Sai's than her own, both of them silent. He didn't sense any uncomfortable aura, but there was definiately something tense pervading from Sakura to his right. Sasuke figured that what had happened that night at dinner wasn't completely resolved.

When they arrived and made their way inside, he gave Sakura a quick kiss on the cheek and then headed to the kitched to start a pot of coffee. Sakura liked a cup of coffee after dinner.

When he returned with two cups and sat down next to her on the living room futon, she was smiled and thanked him but was still quiet. Things were starting to get weird.

It was at least a minute before she spoke.

"You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"…I guess I know now." Sasuke answered dully.

He heard Sakura let out a little sigh. She set her cup down on the coffee table and angled her body to face his on the couch.

"No Sasuke, I'm serious."

When he provided no response and only kept sipping his drink she leaned forward and pulled it out of his hands, setting it on the table with hers.

He tilted his head towards her, brows furrowed.

After about thirty seconds of nothing but him waiting for her to explain and receiving nothing but those huge green eyes staring at him like he was an alien, he finally said, "_What?"_

"Sasuke you sing really, really well." She answered so quickly it almost overlapped his question.

"Well, a lot of people sing well. You're not so bad."

"Yeah but I'm not- " she paused and gestured hurridly at him with her arms.

"You're not what…"

"I'm not Sasuke freaking Uchiha!"

"And I'm not Sakura Haruno." He gestured with one hand, mimicking her from earlier.

"Yeah but-" she leaned forward swiftly and latched her hands onto his forearms, her grip ridicuously strong "You've already got the hair and the eyes and the face and the body…and your voice when you're just talking is already sexy enough-" she was progressively pushing him farther and farther back onto the couch, until his back was flat and she was completely pinning him. She stared down at him with those bright green eyes again. Sasuke had to admit that his heart was thumping and he was a bit nervous.

"What do you want me to say?" He asked carefully.

"Nothing…I'm just reveling in the fact that my boyfriend is a living sex god." The last bit of her words were spoken into his neck, as she had lowered her head and began kissing everywhere she could reach.

Sasuke still didn't really know how to take her reaction, so he just lay there beneath her and stifled moans every time her firm thighs brushed between his legs.

"Sasuk-

"Sasuke-

She seemed to be trying to say something to him but kept interrupting herself by attaching her lips to his ear.

"Sing something." She slid her cold hands underneath his shirt and pulled it up over his head, immediately showering his chest and stomach with attention from teeth and toungue and lips. Her mouth closed around a nipple.

He opened his mouth but didn't accomplish much; she let one hand slide smoothly down his abs and between his legs.

"Ngh- !"

"Sorry," She actually looked sheepish as she brought her face back up to his and removed her hand. Then, with a small smile, "Will you sing for me?"

Sasuke watched her swaying pink hair in a curtain around her face as he at first hummed, and then began to sing. The same, campfirey song of shinobi that Itachi had taught him when they were children, and the same song he had sung at dinner earlier that night when asked, relentlessly and repeatedly to do so.

Sakura was watching the movement of his lips for a moment or two, but then her face had dissappeared from view again as she lowered her head and he felt a hot mouth somewhere near the thin trail of hair leading down his stomach.

He went through the verses smoothly until he felt that familiar, wet suction close around the tip of his length. The last word he sang half-resonated until it morphed into a dark tone of pleasure.

"Saku-

"I know, I'm sorry-" His eyes were shut and his head resting back against the futon's arm rest but he could feel her breath lingering over him and her hand wrapped around him and she was _not sorry._

"I can't sing with yo- ah!"

She completely ignored him! Fists clenched in the rough material of the cushions, Sasuke struggled to keep his hips from lifting off the couch and his voice in a masculine timbre as her mouth closed around him further and further and why _the hell_ was she always so good at this?

"You just sing really, really well." These words sounded a million miles away.

"Thank…you." Sasuke spoke in a strained voice, and then, "It's just an old traditional song."

"Oh, I know…"

Sakura let her toungue slide up the underside of his shaft, agonizingly slow. Sasuke let out something akin to a heavy moan, the sound long and low.

Sakura kissed the very tip of him and then said quietly, "I wasn't talking about the song anymore."


	6. Alone time

Sasuke was more than a little disappointed to hear that morning that Sakura would be working later than usual at the hospital. He found the note saying so, left for him on his kitchen counter in her handwriting, when he got back to his apartment.

So far this week, they had had poorly arranged missions and schedules that had resulted in one being away while the other was in the village, or one being busy while the other had off time. They had hardly seen each other, and Sasuke had hoped that this Friday night would be a good one for spending some time together.

But that wouldn't be the case, because Sakura had a late shift.

Exhausted from his own work, he shrugged off his flak jacket and headed for his bedroom, not feeling that hungry and planning on getting some rest in the absence of his girlfriend.

As he pulled his shirt over his head and layed down, he allowed his thoughts to wonder explicitly.

Without even realizing it, his hand wandered to his fly and he found himself tugging down the zipper. He pulled out his length and felt it was rock hard.

Languidly, Sasuke began stroking, his grip gentle at first but quickly becoming less patient.

"Ngh…" He exhaled harshly with a stifled groan, thinking of Sakura and how he wished she was here because even with his own familiarity with his own body, she made this _so_ much better.

Jerking has hand almost roughly now, he gripped the bed sheets with his other hand, breathing too loudly for someone who was known for their impeccable self control.

"Oh…god, _Sakura_…" He was so close, hips thrusting into his own hand.

"Holy shit."

Completely and instantly thrown out of his wits, Sasuke tore his hand away from his pants and propped himself up with his elbows to look at the doorway. Groaning, and screwing his eyes shut tight, he fell back down onto the bed and willed this situation to end.

"Why did you stop?" Sakura came and sat on the edge of the bed. He sensed more than saw the evil glint in her eyes.

"That wasn't for you to see. Sorry." Sasuke ground out, focusing his attention on the ceiling.

"Don't be, silly. That was…well…I'm definitely not upset right now." Sasuke looked up and was annoyed to observe her features calmly arranged and not the hint of embarrassment on her face. She had certainly grown out of her blushing pre-teen years. "Quite the opposite."

Hearing the breathy quality to her voice, Sasuke propped himself up again, gazing at Sakura with a smirk. He raised his eyebrows a little, challenging her to make a move.

"God, if you only knew how wet I am right now." Her voice was a dangerous whisper.

Sasuke's eyes widened and darkened simultaneously and he gripped the sheets beneath his hands in primal restraint.

"Why don't you show me." He had to struggle to keep from growling.

"You mean show you show you? Like you were just doing a minute ago or- "

"Christ just come here Sakura."


End file.
